Helene Ball, an 81-year-old retired teacher, has won a court battle against Derbyshire County Council after workers cemented a metal fence panel across a 3ft gap in the rear wall of her Matlock property in April 2023, blocking the gate that had provided access to her garden for years. Ball successfully proved the gate had been in use since the 1960s, establishing a right of way, and a first-tier tribunal ordered the council to pay £50,000 in costs. Here’s how the dispute unfolded, and what Ball had to say about her three-year fight.
How the council blocked Helene Ball’s garden access
In April 2023, Derbyshire County Council workers cemented a metal fence panel across a 3ft gap in the rear wall of Ball’s Matlock property, blocking a gate she had relied on for garden access. While the wire fence itself was removed within a year, vehicle access to the street remained blocked throughout the entire legal process that followed, leaving Ball without full use of her property for years while the dispute worked its way through the system. The council has since created a new route for Ball through the site, which is currently up for sale as a small housing development.
Helene Ball’s fight to prove her right of way
Ball took legal action against the council, successfully proving in her case that the gate at her address had been in continuous use since the 1960s. As a result of this evidence, a right of way was established, and a first-tier tribunal ordered Derbyshire County Council to pay £50,000 in costs. Speaking to The Telegraph after her legal victory, Ball said she had taught nine, 10- and 11-year-olds all her life but never expected a council to act so “babyish,” describing its behaviour as “beyond childish” and “absolutely shocking.“
Image Credit: Derby Telegraph
The council’s conduct during the legal battle
Ball said the council did everything it could to bully her throughout the process, adding that after dealing with bullies at school as a teacher, she found herself being bullied again as a pensioner. She said the council tried to put her off pursuing the case, but that it had “messed with the wrong ones.” Reflecting on the ordeal, Ball said the dispute brought her more than three years of stress, but that she and her supporters had ultimately proven the council had blocked her rights. In the tribunal ruling, Judge Robert Brown noted that some evidence presented by the council was “surprisingly combative.”
The political context behind the dispute
The fence’s installation and the legal battle that followed began under the former Conservative administration at Derbyshire County Council. However, the case continued, and the ultimate tribunal hearing took place, under the council’s subsequent Reform UK leadership, meaning the dispute spanned a change in political control at the authority before Ball finally secured her costs award and confirmed right of way.